Kentucky and Wisconsin once again clash in Final Four

Apr 4, 2015 - 2:22 PM Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - In a rematch of last year's classic Final Four showdown, the Kentucky Wildcats and Wisconsin Badgers will collide at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday night, with a spot in the national championship game on the line.

The winner of this game will play for the national title on Monday against either Duke or Michigan State.

John Calipari's Wildcats have their sights set on a perfect season, a feat only seven other teams has done in NCAA history. Kentucky is in its fourth Final Four appearance in the last five years and successfully navigated this season's Midwest Region with wins over Hampton (79-56), Cincinnati (64-51) and West Virginia (78-39), before punching its ticket to the Final Four with a hard-fought 68-66 win over Notre Dame in the Elite Eight. With the win over the Irish, UK moved to 38-0 on the season, one of only three teams to ever reach the 38-win mark. The two other teams with 38 wins were also Calipari coached squads (2008-09 Memphis team, 2011-12 Kentucky team). Plenty of accolades have been thrown Kentucky's way this season, including Calipari recently being tabbed the AP Coach of the Year.

Wisconsin's Bo Ryan has done a remarkable job in his own right. The Badgers are playing in their 17th straight NCAA Tournament, are an impressive 35-3 this season (a school-record) and are just the third Big Ten team in history to reach that win total. The team also picked up some postseason hardware in the form of its first-ever AP Player of the Year in Frank Kaminsky. This also marks the first time in school history that Wisconsin earned a No. 1 seed. The team advanced through the West Region with wins over Coastal Carolina (86-72), Oregon (72-65), North Carolina (79-72) and finally Arizona (85-78) to reach its second straight Final Four and fourth all-time.

This marks the sixth meeting between these two programs and serves as an encore from last season's Final Four battle that resulted in Kentucky pulling out a 74-73 victory, with a 3-pointer at the end. The Wildcats now hold a 4-1 series edge.

Ryan was asked about last year's matchup and if it holds an relevance heading into this game.

"The personnel is different, but of course I looked at it, but, you know, they're a different team. I think it's easier for them to look at us than it is for us to look at them. I looked at ten films today, couple of games where I only looked at a half, but, no, they're different. They're undefeated for a reason."

Wisconsin may just have a formula for beating Kentucky. The strengths of the Badger attack seem to fall in line with areas of vulnerability for the Wildcats. For one, UW is a strong offensive squad (72.8 ppg on .482 shooting), with the ability to bring out Kentucky's big men to defend. Success comes at the defensive end of the floor as well for Wisconsin, which limits foes to just 57.8 ppg. How effective both Kaminsky and Sam Dekker are will tell the tale of this game. The 7-0 Kaminsky has saved his best for last, as the senior is averaging 18.7 points per game on .549 shooting, including .415 from behind the arc. He isn't a mauler inside, but uses his size to is advantage, grabbing 8.0 rebounds per game. He also leads the team in assists (99). The 6-9 Dekker possesses great range as well, with 48 3-pointers to his credit. He is netting 13.9 ppg on .526 shooting. Sophomore forward Nigel Hayes (12.4 ppg) provides another efficient threat, converting .502 from the floor. Backcourt help comes in the form of sophomore Bronson Koenig (8.6 ppg) and seniors Traevon Jackson (8.6 ppg) and Josh Gasser (6.9 ppg).

The Badgers trailed Arizona at the half by three points, but shot a scorching .789 from the floor in the second half, including an eye-popping 10-of-12 from behind the arc, to distance themselves from the Wildcats. Kaminsky was 9-of-20 from the floor and 10-of-12 from the free-throw line to top all scorers with 29 points. Dekker hit five 3-pointers in the second half, scoring 20 points in the frame and finishing with a career-high 27 points. Overall, Wisconsin shot .556 from the floor, including 12-of-18 from 3-point range.

Not much has flustered Kentucky this season and that remained true in the waning moments against Notre Dame. The Wildcats were on the verge of defeat, trailing late, but the team held form, battle back and Andrew Harrison hit a pair of free throws down the stretch to edge out a Notre Dame squad that did almost everything right. However, containing star freshman Karl-Anthony Towns was not one of those things. Towns knocked down 10-of-13 shots in the game and finished with a game-high 25 points. Devin Booker added 10 points to the cause for Kentucky, which shot .532 from the floor overall.

This year's Kentucky squad has been special and may one day be regarded as the best team in the history of the game. Stifling defensive play is the main reason for all the success. The Wildcats have been ultra-stingy at that end of the floor, yielding just 53.9 ppg (second in the country), on .352 shooting (first in the country). The team also tops the country in blocked shots (264). Defensive stability, especially in the paint, comes from junior Willie Cauley- Stein (9.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 65 blocks) and Towns (10.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 87 blocks). Cauley-Stein picked up All-America honors and Towns was named the National Freshman of the Year. Both should be rather high draft picks should they choose to enter the NBA after this season. Aaron Harrison (11.0 ppg) and Devin Booker (10.1 ppg) provide perimeter balance, while players like Andrew Harrison (9.2 ppg), Trey Lyles (8.7 ppg), Dakari Johnson (6.5 ppg) and Tyler Ulis (5.6 ppg) play critical roles as well and give the team plenty of depth.

Calipari expects his squad to be ready for anything in this game.

"We have one job," Calipari said. "Individually it's to be the best version of yourself. Get yourself mentally and physically prepared to be your best. We have to play at our best. That's the best we can do. I can't ask them for anything else. I told them, I don't know the outcome. I can't promise you the outcome. But I do know our chances are best if you're the best version of you and we're our best as a team. Things are going to go crazy. We'll adjust. We've done it all year."

The Badgers may have as good a chance of knocking off Kentucky as any team this season. If Wisconsin can knock down some early shots and get Kaminsky and Dekker going, last year's bitter loss to UK can be avenged.

Kaminsky thinks that a reversal of roles in this game would be a fitting end.

"It's a great story," Kaminsky said. "Talk about starting last year when we played them and the way we lost. To come back this year and beat them on the same stage would be a storybook ending almost."